Jonah 2:1-10
Jonah's Prayer
1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. 2 He said:
"In my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me.
From the depths of the grave I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the deep,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
4 I said, 'I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.'
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you brought my life up from the pit,
O LORD my God.
7 "When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, LORD,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
8 "Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
9 But I, with a song of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the LORD."
10 And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
When I read the Book of Jonah, I wondered why Jonah would be running away from the LORD...In fact, I always try to relate in all of the books and topics why people were doing the things they did...For instance, why did God's people grumble throughout the desert when they had the LORD and His presence right with them...Only later did I realize, I was judging them (and others) and I was wrong in doing so...I now realize that these are men no different than me and I to, would probably (if I had traveled a long way and time in the hot desert, I too would grumble) have acted in a way that God would have deemed unsuitable...
Jonah no doubt is a good speaker and knows the scripture...God has called him to go to the city of Nineveh and preach to the Assyrians...The Assyrians were an enemy of Israel and Jonah...Jonah had no reason, he thought, to go to Nineveh and ran from the LORD...He got on a boat and left, thinking he could get away from God...But God, always knew where Jonah was and is...God makes the sea rage and the sailors throw Jonah overboard (per Jonah's instructions) to protect their ship and there lives...
A great fish swallows Jonah...God is forever in control, and keeps Jonah alive, inside this fish...God created fish and the great creatures of the sea on the fifth day (Genesis 1:21)...No doubt this great fish was one of the great creatures of the sea...God is in control of this fish (and all fish) and the oceans and (God) had Jonah swallowed by a huge fish...
Now inside the great fish, Jonah realizes he cannot run from God...So he prays...He mentions the Holy Temple twice in his prayer, and you wonder, if Jonah thought God would somehow stay in or near the Holy Temple and not find him on the seas...Now Jonah knows without question, God is everywhere...Inside this huge fish, no doubt Jonah is being digested...It is completely dark, he is low on air, water is threatening him, and he has seaweed wrapped around his head...God is listening...Jonah calls the belly of the fish a grave and knows without God's help, he is doomed...Jonah's prayer starts with saying he has called to the LORD when he is in distress and trouble, and the LORD has answered...He says from this grave, I called for help, and you listened to my cry (such a beautiful verse)...His prayer is one of gratitude, thanks, and of salvation...Jonah has never given up his faith in God, he just doesn't like the people of Nineveh...
We must not forget that Jonah was inside the stomach of this fish for three days and three nights...Our God is a God of miracles... God as He does and can do, kept Jonah alive...Jonah would have time to think and know God is in control...Darkness and gloom for three days and three nights...This would be an experience Jonah would never forget, inside this great fish...He ends his prayer in saying I will make good...God, now I know you are in control, and I will go to Nineveh..
The LORD commanded the fish (God, indeed can communicate with all living creatures) and the great fish will vomit Jonah onto dry land...Man, fish, animals, and living plants migrate, grow, travel, and live according to our creator...God has guided this great fish to the proper place, where He wants it to go, and it now vomits Jonah onto land...
No matter where we are, God is in control...No matter where we are, God hears our prayers (even inside of a great fish)...When we are in trouble and suffering, we have a tendency to pray and we should pray...From the depths of great trouble, we call for help, and our cries are heard, by our Father...Jonah's great prayer was in great darkness and the deep depths of the sea, inside the fish...A prayer in darkness...